Door for pressure compartments



Jan. 27, 1948. R. E. JEFFERY DOOR FOR PRESSURE COMPARTMEN'I S 2Sheets-Sheef Filed March 18, 1947 zzverzzor, Rickard E lief/e729 M anJan. 27, 1948.

R. E. JEFFERY DOOR FOR PRESSURE COMPARTMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet I aInventor,

Ric/Zara .27 J6 Filed March 18, 1947 Att ys Patented Jan. 27, 1948UNIL'IED- STAT ES PATENT OFFICE D6013? FOR; PRESSURE COMPARTMENT-S'Richard E. Jeff o y, Maldem. Mass., assignor. to Market. EorgeCompany,Everett-Mass a corporation ofMas saohusetts' Ai-pplicatiomMarch 18,1947, SeriaYNo; 7355283 8, Claims.r (01; 126 -20).

T is i vention ates todoojrs and merchantticulafly-to-that typeofdoor'used in Pressure teamers or: the like: having compartments intowhich. live steam is; admitted? and maintained: at moderate pressures;the present: application beingacontinuation inepart of: my copendingapplication; Serial. No; 649,109. filedi February 20 1946,, nowabandoned:

One,- obiect of" the: invention. is. to provide. a door for sealing acompartment- Oil the v:type; described and. forpreyenting. the escape:of;- the live steam. while entering: andiafter:- admission to: the:compartments Another: obj eat of: the; vention is tovproyide:az.doorrof'.theitypecdesoribed which is of simple-,1 durable, and:light: construe: tion; inexpensive; and: easy. to; manufacture; easy to.operate and; which; possesses: a: minimum; of. partsssubject to;deteriorationafromthe heat and moisture: associateds with, the: use. oflive: steam; said parts; being; quickly; and inexpensivelyure'e placed.Still:anotherobiectiofi the invention is to. provide a. door ofthe.type' described which will insure the attainment of? the-highest:standrd? of cleanliness; and freedom: from; sources. of contamination.andv obnoxious" cooking odors;

According to; the: present: invention the. door comprises a closuremember having;- a:. marginal portion similar to: but: largen than: a:compartment opening;. gasket supportingz means similar to. but largerthan saidi opening. beingmounted on the outer; surface. of? the closure.memben and havingra peripheral portion .ofisetrelativethereto, a.frame-like gaskethaving: an: inner peripheral: portion formed with: a1continuousgroove definingv atapering. wali and fitting about thesupporting-imeans. with said: offset portion: ex tending: into; thegroove,:.the.-.facesof saidgasketv beingainterposed between thamarginalportions of.- theclosure member and opening; .and a:gask-t retaining 1member abutting the outer periphery of: the, gasket. so thatwhenipressure-is admitted to .the compartment; it. exerts1:.a;fprcee againstthe tapered wall ofthe gasket. to wedge'it down-e 2. partment and beforesuiiicientpressure has been generated therein to. exert a. wedging forceagainst the inner periphery. of the gasket. The gasket may alsohave abeveled outer periphery i juxtaposed to. the gasket retaining member. to

provide a more efficient fit therebetween.

In. still another. aspect the lower portion of the. gaskethas at least.one passage afiording communication between the bottom of the roove andthe outer periphery of the gasket which abuts. the gasket retainingmember; the parts being so constructed and arranged. that when pressure.isadmittedto-the compartment it exerts a force against the taperingwallof the gasket. to --wedg e the gasket downwardly against themarginalportion of the opening and outwardly againstthe gasketeretaining memberto seaLtheopening-and passage, and .when'the door is opened. and thepressure released any condensate. collected between the tapering walland supporting means will drain by force of gravity tothebottom ofthegroove, through the passage and.thence out of. the door between thegasket and. gasket.-retaining member.

For the purpose of, illustration reference is made. tothe. followingdetailed description and drawings in which,

Fi .1- isa perspeotiveview of one embodiment of. the invention;

Fig.2 is-av cross section. of the. gasket of the embodiment of. Fig. 1

Eig..3.-is a facev-iew of the gasket of Fig. 2-;

Fig. l. is. atop face view ofthe cover in the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 isz- 8.201055. section along lines- 5'--5 of i 4;,

Fig. 6;. isa fragmentary face view" of a lower corneroif a: modifiedembodiment of the gasket of. Fig. 3.;

Eig. 7. isia cross-section of a modified embodiinept-of. theinventiontaken along the lines l -7 ofiEig; i withthe modified gasket ofFig. 6; and

Eig; iidsanenlarged view-similar to Fig. 7 but showing; the relationship0f: the parts when the door. i-sin ope ixposition;

Referring to Eig. 5-, the numeral: designates marginal. portions of asteamer compartment defining a -.compa.rtment opening 2. Al closuremember 3: having marginal portions 4' similar tobutlarger than saidopening-#2 is'removably juxtaposed to. the opening: A dome-shaped coverSis-mounted; adjacent to: its edgeii,- to'the outer edgeor: the;marginal portions 4' of the closure member by suitable=means such as; a;weld; said. edge: 6: "extending downwardly to form a gasket retainingmember I. A gasket supporting plate 8, similar to but larger than theopening 2, is secured to the outer surface ofthe closure member and hasa peripheral portion 9 offset relative thereto to receive and support aresilient frame-like, preferably neoprene, gasket l0.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the gasket Ill has in cross section anapproximately Y-shaped inner periphery ll defining a continuous grooveadapted to fit about the gasket supporting plate 8 with the peripheralportion 9 extending into the leg of the Y. The gasket I further has abeveled outer periphery l2 abutting the gaskethas inwardly divergingfaces l3 and I4 interbegins to deteriorate from the exposure to theposed between the marginal portions of the 010- sure member and openingas shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to Fig. 5, reinforcing channel frame [5 is disposed within thedome-shaped cover in spaced relation to the closure member, the opposededges of said frame extending outwardly, in opposite directions, throughslots l6 formed in the cover to provide two projecting members i! andIS. The frame is secured to the cover, at the slots, by suitable meansas a weld.

To provide a butt hinge for the above described door, a plate I9 issecured by a weld to the upper face of projecting member I! and to thecover 5 and has a projecting loop to which is socured, in a similarmanner, an elongate collar 2 l. The collar is adapted to fit betweencomplementary spaced ears 22 mounted on the compartment end, and isthere pivotally held by a pivot 23 as shown in Fig. l.

A handle 24 is provided on the opposite side of the door and comprisestwo spaced post members 25 and a connecting bar 26, the bases of theposts extending through openings 21 in projecting member l8 and theresecured by means of a wed, A pair 'of spaced cover lates 28, eachprovided with openings 29 through which the posts 25 extend, are securedat one end 30 to the cover 5 above and adjacent to the slot l6 andextend outwardly beyond-the posts, at which point they are bentdownwardly, and inwardly, the opposite ends 3| being welded to the coverto the edge 6.

To provide means for locking closed the abovedescribed door, a tongue 32is disposed between said spaced cover plates and comprises a plate 33secured by a weld to the cover below and adjacent slot 16 and extendingoutwardly and upwardly to a point adjacent the bend of said spacedplates where it is similarly bent downwardly and inwardly and secured tothe edge 6 of the cover. A complementary locking clamp 34 ispivotallymounted on the compartment, as shown in Fig. 1, and is adapted when thedoor is closed to clamp over the tongue 32 to lock the door closed.

From the foregoing it is evident that when the door is in closed andlocked position as shown in Fig. 5, the faces l3 and M of the gaskethave already been pinched between the marginal portions of the c osuremember and opening to create a seal. On admission of steam to thecompartment, the .pressure within the compartment exerts a force againstthe lower arm of the Y- shaped inner periphery of the gasket to wedgethe gasket downwardly against the marginal por tions of the opening andalso outwardly against the gasket retaining member 1 of cover 5 so thatthe seal is increased in strength with the increase in pressure forpreventing the escape of steam from the compartment.

It is further evident that when the gasket I 0 heat and moisture of thelive steam, it may be removed quickly and inexpensively by merelyslipping the inner periphery of the gasket out of the offset peripheralportion of the supporting plate and inserting a new gasket by thereverse procedure.

Referring to Figs. 6, .7 and 8, the embodiment shown therein, except ashereinafter pointed out, is substantially the same as that previouslydescribed and the same or similar reference numerals are applied tcorresponding parts. In this embodiment each marginal portion 4 ofclosure member 3 is provided at its periphery with a gasket-retainingflange 34 inclined inwardly toward the marginal portion 1 of thecompartment.

The outer face of the flange abuts the inner face of the member I and issecured thereto by suitable means, as a, weld. The inner face of theflange provides a complementary surface abutting the beveled outerperiphery l2 of a modified gasket ll] when the door is in closedposition as shown in Fig. 7. The lower portion of the modified gasket Itis provided intermediate its ends with a passage 35 affordingcommunication between the bottom of the leg of the Y of the innerperiphery H and the beveled outer periphery l2 which abuts thegasket-retaining flange 34. When the door is in closed and lockedposition as shown in Fig. 7, the beveled outer periphery l2 isforcedagainst the gasket-retaining flange 34 to seal the outer opening of thepassage. On

-, admission of steam to the compartment, the

pressure within the compartment exerts a force against the lower arm ofthe Y-shaped inner periphery of the gasket, as aforesaid, to wedge itoutwardly against the gasket-retaining flange 34 so that the seal of thepassage is increased in strength with the increase in pressure toprevent the escape of steam from the passage,

When the door is in open position as shown in Fig. 8, and the steampressure is released, all the pressure upon the gasket is removed, thebevelled periphery of the gasket withdraws slightly from thegasket-retaining flange, and the seal of the passage is broken. Anycondensate collecting upon the inner face of the gasket-supporting platewill drain by force of gravity into the space between'the arm of theY-shaped inner periphery and the peripheral offset portion 9 of thegasket-supporting plate. Thence it will flow downwardly between theloose-fitting inner periphery of'the gasket and said offset portion 9 ofthe gasket-supporting plate to the bottom of the leg of the Y, andthence through the passage 35 and out of the door between the outerperiphery of the gasket and the gasket-retaining flange. In a similarmanner any condensate pocketed in the leg of the Y when the door wasclosed and while the gasket was under pressure will drain through thepassage and out of the door when the door is opened and the pressure onthe gasket is released. From the'foregoing it is evident that withoutinterfering in any way withthe sealing of the compartment, the doorinsures freedom from stagnant condensate which is the'scurce ofcontamination and obnoxious cooking odors.

While the embodiment of Figs. 6, '7 and 8 has been described as providedwith only one passage 35, it is to be understood that the invention isnot to be so limited and may comprise a plurality of similar passagesprovided in the lower portion of the gasket Hi.

It should be understood that the present disanemone:

closme i's' foi tii'e purpose ofiillustratiomonlysrand that theinventiom includesall modifications and equivalents whi cli -fall withinthe scopeaof-Ztlieaappendedclaimse' 1' claim In combination, apressurecompartment marginal portions defining an opening; 3-? door' forsealing" said; opening, comprising a closure member" havinga marginalportion sin-rilar tobut larger 'tl'iarrsaid opening; gasket supporti-ngmeans similan to but larger" than: said opening" mounted on the inner-'surface of said closure." member face contact therewith" and having aperipheralportions offset relative thereto, a resilient frame-likegasket having-an,

inner peripheral portion formed' with a continuous= groove definingatapering wall and T fitting about: said"- supporting means"- with: theoffset peripheral" portion ex-tending'into thegroovegthe faces of saidgasket b'eing interp'osed between the marginal portions the closure"-member and opening; and' a gasket retainingmember abutting theouterperipli'ery of tI-ie gasket; so that" when pressure is admitted tothe compartment it exerts": aeforce against the tapering wall" of thegasket to wed'gemliegasket downwardly against marginal portion of theopening and cut wardiy: against the gasliet -retainingi member to sealthe'openingz In combination, a;- pressure compartment having marginal!portionsdefining an opening, a door for sealing said opening; comprisinga closure member having a marginalportion similar to-but -larger saidopening gasket'sup porting meanssi-milar tobut larger than said openingmeunted on" the inner surface of said closure member" in f'aeecontacttherewith and havingaperipheral -portiorroffset relative thereto, aresilient frame-liliegaskethaving an approximately Y-shaped innerperiphery fitting about said supporting means with the ofiset peripheralportionextendingintdthe leg of the Y, the faces ofsaid'gasket'beinginterposed between the marginal, portionseoftheolosuremember-and opening, and a, gasket-retainingfmember=abuttingthe outer periphery of the gasket, so that when pressure isadmittedtolthecompartment it exerts a force against the lower arm of theY-shaped inner periphery of the gasket to wedge the-gasket: downwardiyagainst the -marginal-- portion of the opening and outwardly against thegasketretaining member to seal the opening.

3. In combination, a pressure compartment having marginal portionsdefining an opening, a door for sealing said opening, comprising aclosure member having a marginal portion similar to but larger than saidopening, means for removably locking the closure member in juxtaposedrelation to the opening, gasket supporting means similar to but largerthan said opening mounted on the inner surface of said closure member inface contact therewith and having a peripheral portion offset relativethereto, a resilient frame-like gasket having an inner peripheralportion formed with a continuous groove defining a tapering wall andfitting about said supporting means with the offset peripheral portionextending into the groove, and having inwardly diverging facesinterposed between the marginal portions of the closure member andopening, when the closure member is locked, and adapted to be pinchedtherebetween to form a seal, and a gasket-retaining member abutting theouter periphery of the gasket, so that when pressure is admitted to thecompartment it exerts a force 6, agai-n'stitlie taperingrwalli'ofi'thegasket itoswed'ge the; gaskett doymwardlw againsta the; marginal portion oi f theopening and outwardly against the gasket'aretaining memberwhereby the seal is: increased? imstrengtli with' the -increase in:pres-i sure within-the compartment con'rbinatic m,v a-:. pressurecompartment having: marginal f portions-' defining an. opening; adoorfor; sealing said; opening; comprising a closure :member having: a:marginal portionsim-v ilar: to but larger than said opening, means-forremovablyrlocking the closure member 'in juxtaposedlirelationto theopening; gasket supporting means similar 1 tmbut larg'er thansaidopening monntedl on -v the inner: surfaceof" said" closure memberimfaee: contact therewith and having a peripheral; portionzoffsetirelative thereto,- a re* sil'ient frame like-gaskethaving anapproximately Wshapedinner periphery fitting about said supporti ng'means---with the offset peripheral portion extendinginto' the legef theY; and having in= wardly diverging faces interposed between the marginalportions of the closure member and opening, when'the closure-member islocked, and

' adapted tobe pinched therebetween to form a seal; anda gasketretaining' member abutting theioutenperipliery of'the gasket; sothat'when pressure isadinitted -to th'e compartment it-exert's a forceagainst the lower arm of the Y -shaped inner'periphery-of the gasket towedge the gasket downwardlyagainst the marginal portion of the openingand=outwardly against the gasket' ret'aining? member whereby the seal isincreased in strength with=tlie increasein pressure within thecompartment? 51 In combination; apressure compartment havingmarginalportions defining an opening, a: doon for sealing said opening,comprising a closure memberhaving a marginal-portion similar to butlarger than said opening, gasketsupporting means" similar to butlarger-than said opening mounted on the: inner surface of saidclosuremember in face contact therewith and having a peripheral portionoifset relative thereto, a resilient frame-likegaskethaving an innerperipheral portiorrformed with: a continuous groovedefinedby' arrinnerand outer-wall inclined toward eachother'and fitting about" saidsupporting'meanswiththeoffset peripheral-portion extending into thegroove, the faces of said" gasket being interposed between the marginalportions of the closure member and opening, and a gasketretaining membercarried by the door in position to abut the outer periphery of thegasket when the closure member is in closed position, the portion of thegasket which is lowermost when said door is open having at least onepassage affording communication between the bottom of the groove and theouter periphery of the gasket which abuts the gasket-retaining member,the parts being so constructed and arranged that when pressure isadmitted to the compartment it exerts a force against the inner inclinedwall of the gasket to wedge the gasket downwardly against the marginalportions of the opening and outwardly against the gasket-retainingmember to seal the opening and passage, and when the door is opened andpressure upon the gasket is released, any condensate collected betweenthe inner inclined wall and supporting means will drain by force ofgravity to the bottom of the groove, through the passage and thence outof the door between the gasket and gasket-retaining member.

6. In combination, a. pressure compartment having marginal portionsdefining an opening, a door for sealing said opening, comprising aclosure member having a marginal portion similar to but larger than saidopening, gasket supporting means similar to but larger than said openingmounted on. the inner surface of said closure member in face contacttherewith and having a peripheral portion offset relative thereto, aresilient frame-like gasket having an inner peripheral portion formedwith a continuous groove defined by an inner and outer wall inclinedtoward each other and fitting about said supporting mean with the offsetperipheral portion extending into the groove, the faces of said gasketbeing interposed between the marginal portions of the closure member andopening, and a gasketretaining member comprising a flange integral withthe marginal portions of theclosure member and inclined inwardly towardthe marginal portions of the opening, the inner face of the flangeabutting the outer periphery of the gasket when the closure member is inclosed position, the portion of the gasket which is lowermost when saiddoor is open having at least one passage affording communication betweenthe bottom of the groove and the outer periphery of the gasket whichabuts the flange, the parts being so constructed and arranged that whenpressure is admitted to the compartment it exerts a force against theinner inclined wall of the gasket to wedge the gasket downwardly againstthe marginal portions of the opening and outwardly against the flange toseal the opening and passage, and when the door is opened and pressureupon the gasket is released, any condensate collected between the innerinclined wall and supporting means will drain by force of gravity to thebottom of the groove, through the passage and thence out of the doorbetween the gasket and flange.

7. In combination, a pressure compartment having marginal portionsdefining an opening, a door for sealing said opening, comprising aclosure member having a, marginal portion similar to but larger thansaid opening, gasket-supporting means similar to but larger than saidopening mounted on the inner surface of said closure member inface'contact therewith, and having a peripheral portion ofiset relativethereto, a resilient frame-like gasket having an inner Number peripheralportion formed with a continuous groove defining a tapering wall andfitting about said supporting means with the offset peripheral portionextending into the groove, the faces of said gasket being interposedbetween the marginal portions of the closure member and opening, theouter periphery of the gasket having a beveled portion, and agasket-retaining member abuttingsaid beveled portion so that whenpressure is admitted to the compartment it exerts a force against thetapering wall of the gasket to wedge the gasket downwardly against themar ginal portion of the opening and outwardly against thegasket-retaining member to seal the opening.

8. In combination, a pressure compartment having marginal portionsdefining an opening, a door for sealing said opening, comprising aclosure member having a, marginal portion similar to but larger thansaid opening, a gasketsupporting means similar to but larger than saidopening mounted on the inner surface of said closure member in facecontact therewith, and having a peripheral portion offset relativethereto, a resilient frame-like gasket having an approximately Y-shapedinner periphery fitting about said supporting means with the offsetperipheral portion extending into the leg of the Y, the faces of saidgasket being interposed between the marginal portions of the closurememher and opening, the outer periphery of the gasket having a beveledportion, and a gasketretaining member abutting said beveled portion, sothat when pressure is admitted to the compartment it exerts a forceagainst the lower arm of the Y-shaped inner periphery of the gasket toWedge the gasket downwardly against the marginal portion of the openingand outwardly against the gasket-retaining member to seal the opening.

RICHARD E. JEFFERY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,872,020 Taylor Aug. 16, 1932

